Farmers Movement Archive

Stay strong, don’t destroy crops or commit suicide, says Charuni

Kurukshetra: With several farmers from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) resorting to destroying their standing crops in protest against the Centre’s three agr-marketing laws, Gurnam Singh Charuni of BKU, Haryana, on Monday made a fervent appeal to not resort to such drastic measures. “Over the last two days, we have been getting reports from several places of farmers mowing down their standing crops. It hurts to see this. Farmers grow crops just as they would raise their own children. Mowing down crops is very saddening. To those farmer brothers, who are doing this in the heat of the moment, we want to tell them that by resorting to such acts we are not going to make the government accept anything. The government did not listen even when 10-15 farmers committed suicide, a saint shot himself,” Charuni said in a video released late in the evening. Farmers have taken to destroying standing crops following BKU national spokesman Rakesh Tikait’s appeal in Hisar recently, to be ready to sacrifice their standing crop if their demands are not met by the Union government. “Whatever Tikait Sahib had said, it was meant to be to stay prepared, just in case there is a need to burn our crops. Tikait never asked (farmers) to mow down the crops. I request farmers not to get into such emotional state. I request with folded hands, that no brother should destroy standing crops in fields. No one should commit suicide,” he appealed. Asking farmers to remain strong in this movement against the Centre’s three controversial agri laws, Charuni added, “We are still sitting on protest and have not left the morcha. We will fight till our demands are accepted. I again request you all to stop destroying crops as this (farming) is our only means of livelihood. Without crops, how will we survive?” “I reiterate that Tikait Sahib never asked anyone to mow down crops and all brothers should refrain from doing so. No one should commit suicide. We will continue our struggle till the end and we need your support in this movement,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-02-23

Chandigarh